Independent Resources has received formal communication from Italy's Ministry of Environment regarding its Rivara gas storage project in Northern Italy, for which it is currently seeking environmental and consequent mineral title approvals ahead of planned development.

The Ministry's Technical Commission for Environmental Impact Verification, a decision-making body within the Ministry, has voted to allow the project to proceed by explicitly re-confirming the environmental compatibility of the project's so-called appraisal phase, which is designed to definitively confirm the project's technical characteristics and therefore both its safety and feasibility.

The Company welcomes this long-awaited development and will report further on the project's status and outlook following receipt of the Ministerial Decree associated with the VIA Commission's approval. Such a decree formalizes the positive opinions received from both the VIA Commission and Italy's Ministry of Cultural Assets and Activities and the issue of the decree is an automatic consequence of these opinions. The Company expects to receive the signed decree early in 2012 following the upcoming holiday season.

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